Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Financial Institutions: Environment Protection

Mr Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government is planning to require mandatory environmental reporting by UK financial institutions in line with the framework developed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Government has endorsed the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and encouraged all publicly-listed companies to implement them. We sought views on companies’ ability to apply these recommendations with consistency through the work of the Green Finance Taskforce and the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Consultation. The Green Finance Taskforce published its report in March and we will respond in due course.

Fracking: Plastics

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential link between fracking and the manufacturing of non-degradable plastics.

Claire Perry: No such assessment has been made. Natural gas produced from shale rock is indistinguishable from that produced from other hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many contractors currently vemployed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Richard Harrington: None.

Nuclear Installations: Inspections

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if it his Department's policy for the nuclear inspection regime in the UK to maintain Euratom standards when the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: As stated in Article 77 of the draft Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU, the UK will be responsible for its own nuclear safeguards arrangements when the UK leaves Euratom. The Government announced through a statement to Parliament in September 2017 to establish a future domestic safeguards regime that will be equivalent in effectiveness and coverage to that currently provided by Euratom. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will be the body responsible for the delivery of this regime.

Heathrow Airport: Environment Protection

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of potential restrictions on national economic activity that will be needed in order to meet targets set in the Climate Change Act 2008 should the expansion at Heathrow Airport proceed.

Claire Perry: As noted in the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement, the Government agrees with the Airports Commission’s assessment that a new runway at Heathrow can be delivered within the UK’s climate change obligations. We are a world leader in clean growth. Between 1990 and 2016, the UK reduced its emissions by over 40 per cent while growing the economy by more than two thirds – the best performance in the G7 on a per person basis. The Government has put clean growth at the heart of its Industrial Strategy, in order to drive economic growth while meeting our emission reduction targets.

Airbus SAS: Subsidies

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the World Trade Organization 15 May 2018 ruling that the European Union failed to comply with requests to end subsidies for Airbus.

Richard Harrington: I welcome the positive report by the Appellate Body in the dispute brought by the US on support to Airbus. It confirms that the EU has not provided any prohibited subsidies and has taken the necessary action regarding the bulk of the findings in the original WTO case. Nevertheless, a small number of issues remain for the EU to deal with. We take our international commitments seriously and we are acting swiftly to make sure that we are in line with WTO rules. We now look forward to the WTO report into the US efforts to bring themselves into line with WTO requirements, following previous rulings that confirmed continuing massive US government support to Boeing

Boeing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to attract foreign direct investment from the Boeing Company.

Richard Harrington: We continue to work closely with the aerospace sector, particularly through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, on areas such as R&D, innovation, supply chain competitiveness, and skills to make the UK a leading, attractive environment for investment for the global industry. In the case of Boeing, we have been working closely with it, as part of the Long Term Partnering Initiative for UK Prosperity and Growth, launched in July 2016. Boeing continues to grow its UK footprint with currently over 2,200 direct employees. Boeing is investing over £88m in a new commercial hangar for maintenance, repair and overhaul services at Gatwick airport, which will create around 100 jobs directly and a similar number indirectly; Boeing is building its first civil aerospace manufacturing facility in Europe at Sheffield, with investment of around £40m; Boeing is co-investing in a £100M P-8 infrastructure facility at RAF Lossiemouth; and Boeing has invested in an expansion to its Flight Training Centre at Crawley to incorporate four new simulators – the company’s largest such facility outside the United States.

Domestic Appliances: Sales

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase protection for the buyer in consumer-to-consumer private online sales of electrical goods.

Andrew Griffiths: Existing laws (such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Misrepresentation Act 1967) apply to consumer to consumer transactions, including the sale of electrical goods, but we want to make sure that this legal framework is right for the future. That’s why the Government’s Consumer Green Paper launched on 11 April seeks views on whether the existing legal framework applicable to consumer-to-consumer transactions should be strengthened further. The consultation is open until 4 July 2018 and the feedback received will help determine next steps.

Domestic Appliances: Sales

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting the sale of electrical goods online whose manufacture dates to before the introduction of the Plugs and Sockets Regulation 1994; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Griffiths: Second hand equipment supplied in the course of business to a consumer, including domestic electrical devices manufactured before 1994 and supplied online, are within scope of the Plugs and Sockets Regulations 1994. Any plugs attached to such electrical devices must comply with the Regulations including conforming to the relevant British Standard or providing an equivalent level of safety.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nigeria: Religious Hatred

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what is his assessment he has made of the effectiveness of prosecution of religion-related crimes in Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin: Nigeria is a secular, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. We are aware of concerns that in some cases prosecutions have not been secured for some religion-related crimes and that a full assessment of the effectiveness of prosecution in such cases might not have been made. We urge the Nigerian government to investigate fully all such crimes and hold those responsible to account. We continue to support Nigerian authorities' efforts to strengthen their criminal justice system and ensure accountability.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​As of 31 May 2018 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not employ any contractors on £1,000 or more per day.

Taner Kilic

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he raised the case of the chair of Amnesty International Turkey, Taner Kılıç, during the recent visit of President Erdogan to the UK.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​We have raised the detention of Taner Kilic with the Turkish Government at all levels. Most recently the Prime Minister discussed the case with President Erdogan during his recent visit to the UK. We urge Turkey to ensure Mr Kilic's release from pre-trial detention and to bring his case to a transparent, fair conclusion.

Sudan: Armed Forces

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May to Question 143643, for what reason that document states that 2.8 per cent of the Sudan’s GDP is spent on military expenditure.

Harriett Baldwin: The figure is drawn from the World Bank's World Development Indicators for 2016.

Department of Health and Social Care

Muscular Dystrophy: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure NICE evaluates all treatments for duchenne muscular dystrophy by the same criteria.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for the development of authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and treatments represent an effective use of resources. Drugs for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy selected for referral to NICE are assessed using NICE’s standard methods and processes for the relevant guidance programme. Most of the treatments NICE assesses are appraised through its technology appraisal programme, but NICE also operates a separate highly specialised technology programme for the evaluation of a small number of very high cost drugs for very small patient populations. Decisions about the most appropriate programme for assessment of individual treatments, including for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, are taken following consideration against published criteria, including the size of the eligible patient population, and engagement with stakeholders.

Rare Diseases: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what circumstances NHS England and manufacturers are able to negotiate managed access agreements as part of an evaluation of a highly specialised technology; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has historically taken decisions based on whether, at the price proposed by a company, the value proposition of the treatment for the National Health Service is commensurate with the evidence of benefit and level of certainty. Since the establishment of the NHS England commercial development team in 2017, NICE has a third option, in circumstances where an improvement in the value proposition might successfully address issues that would otherwise lead to a negative decision. In those circumstances, NICE informs NHS England who hold negotiations with the company and if an improved value proposition can be agreed, NICE can make its final decision in light of the agreed improvements. Those agreements are contained within a managed access agreement (MAA) which typically includes clinical starting and stopping criteria, patient consent and data collection, and confidential commercial terms agreed between the manufacturer and NHS England. These provide a time-limited period of access pending a reappraisal at the end of the MAA period using the improved evidence from the period of routine commissioning.

Translarna

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all signatories to the managed access agreement  between NHS England and PTC Therapeutics for the drug Translarna.

Steve Brine: The Managed Access Agreement relating to Translarna for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy, including a list of signatories, is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/hst3/resources

Dental Services and Prescriptions: Universal Credit

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make provision for free prescriptions and dental treatment for people on universal credit whose earnings are less than £435 a month.

Steve Brine: Claimants of Universal Credit are entitled to free National Health Service prescriptions and free dental care if their earnings for the most recent assessment period are below prescribed earnings thresholds. A claimant would be entitled to free NHS prescriptions and/or free NHS dental care if their earnings during that period were:- £435 or less;- £935 or less if their Universal Credit includes an element for either:- A child; or- Limited capability for work. The Department will keep the earnings thresholds under review on an annual basis. Patients in receipt of Universal Credit who do not qualify for this help may qualify for help through the NHS Low Income Scheme.

Devon and Cornwall Ambulance Service

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve ambulance response times by Devon and Cornwall Ambulance Service.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on improving response times in line with the Government’s improved ambulance performance framework of July 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Following an independent evaluation of extensive trials, the Government agreed NHS England’s recommendation to implement an improved ambulance performance framework in July 2017. All mainland ambulance services adopted the new standards by November 2017. The framework prioritises responses to the sickest patients while helping reduce long waits for ambulance responses, and ensures patients receive the response that they need the first time. Ambulance services are performing well as they adapt to the new system, and are demonstrating improving performance across the board on all measures. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to support the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to adapt to the new framework, including the review of staff rotas and vehicle fleets to include more double crewed ambulances which has resulted in increase in staff in some areas. The Trust is also working with local commissioners to create a joint plan to support improvements in performance and ensure adequate resources to deliver against the standards.

Antibiotics: Prescriptions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps have been taken to prevent the over-prescription of antimicrobials.

Steve Brine: The Government’s ambition in response to Lord O’Neill’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance is to halve inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics by 2020/21. The English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance has shown that the number of antibiotic prescriptions in primary care decreased by 13% between 2012 and 2016. To support the Government’s ambition, NHS England and Public Health England are leading a range of measures to optimise the prescribing of antibiotics, including education and training, financial incentives and raising awareness. The measures include: - A Quality Premium focused on driving down inappropriate prescribing in primary care;- A Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) scheme to incentivise providers to reduce antibiotic consumption in secondary care; and- A national awareness campaign launched by Public Health England to increase patient awareness about inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. In addition, the NHS England Chief Pharmaceutical Officer will be reinforcing what constitutes inappropriate prescribing (as recently defined by the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Prescribing, Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection) in direct communications to trusts.

Smoking

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on dispensing smoking cessation products via the NHS in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: Information is only available centrally on the cost of smoking cessation medication that has been dispensed to National Health Service patients using the FP10 prescription form. There are various other routes in which such medication can be supplied to a patient from the NHS including from community pharmacies via voucher schemes and a direct supply to patients from a Patient Group Direction. Smoking cessation drugs are classified under section British National Formulary (BNF) 4.10.2, Nicotine dependence, using the BNF classification system prior to edition 70. The following table provides the Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) of smoking cessation medication where they have only been dispensed in the community via an FP10 form in England in the specified years. YearNIC (£)201534,692,508201629,263,595201727,353,738Source: Prescription Cost Analysis NHS Digital Notes: 1. Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Data Prescription information is taken from the PCA system, supplied by NHS Prescription Services, a division of NHS Business Services Authority, and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions. (Prescribers are general practitioners, hospital doctors, dentists and non-medical prescribers such as nurses and pharmacists.) 2. Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) This is the basic cost of a drug as used in primary care. This is the cost at list price excluding VAT, i.e. the price listed in the national Drug Tariff or in standard price lists and is not necessarily the price the NHS paid. It does not take into account any contract prices or discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charge income, so the amount the NHS paid will be different. NIC is used in Prescription Services reports and other analyses, as it standardises cost throughout prescribing nationally, and allows comparisons of data from different sources. The figures are in pounds. 3. BNF Classifications The PCA system uses the therapeutic classifications defined in the BNF using the classification system prior to edition 70. Information on why a drug is prescribed is not available in this dataset. Since drugs can be prescribed to treat more than one condition, it may not be possible to separate the different conditions for which a drug may have been prescribed. The primary purpose of the BNF is to provide information for clinicians. The format of the BNF was changed with Edition 70 (September 2015 - March 2016) to make it more user friendly. However the NHS Business Service Authority, who process dispensed prescription forms and collects dispensed prescribing data and produce the PCA data, continue to use the old BNF classification system to code medicines, which has become widely used in the United Kingdom as a classification to allow comparisons between drug groups. For example it is used to report cost and trend in medicines use and supports several NHS Digital official publications. The data are used in many NHS IT systems.

Smoking

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people in recipient of smoking cessation products dispensed via the NHS who have subsequently quit cigarettes for longer than four weeks in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: NHS Digital collects and publishes information delivered by local stop smoking services which are commissioned by local authorities. This includes information on the number of quit attempts by the type of pharmacotherapy received and whether the quit attempt was successful or not. This a count of quit attempts and not people so those attempting to quit more than once in the time period will have each attempt recorded. This information can be found in the attached document, with data collated from the NHS Digital publications, for years 2016-17, 2015-16 and 2014-15 available at the following links: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-in-england/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-england-april-2016-to-march-2017 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-in-england/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-england-april-2015-to-march-2016 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-in-england/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-in-england-april-2014-to-march-2015



PQ146916 attached document
(Excel SpreadSheet, 35.73 KB)

Smoking

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he makes of the cost effectiveness of smoking cessation products dispensed via the NHS in ensuring that patients quit cigarettes for longer than four weeks; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: No separate assessment has been made of the effectiveness of smoking cessation products dispensed via the National Health Service in ensuring that patients quit cigarettes for longer than four weeks. There is evidence that smoking cessation products are effective in supporting smokers to quit, in particular when combined with specialist support. In the latter case smokers are four times as likely to stop smoking successfully as those who attempt to quit unaided or with over the counter nicotine replacement therapy.

Dental Health

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of proportion of the adult population over 18 years of age that is free from dental decay in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in the last 12 years for which information is available.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the adult population over 18 years of age that is free from dental decay per income quintile of the population in England in the last 12 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: No estimates have been made on the proportion of the adult population over 18 years of age in England who are free from dental decay in the ten most and least deprived areas of England or by income quintile in the last 12 years. The 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey in England, Wales and Northern Ireland reported on proportions of people aged 16 years and older free from tooth decay by socio-economic classification of household. The survey found: 69% of all people aged 16 years and older were free from tooth decay; 74% of people aged 16 years and older in managerial and professional occupations were free from tooth decay; 69% of people aged 16 years and older in intermediate occupations were free from tooth decay; and 63% of people aged 16 years and older in routine and manual occupations were free from tooth decay. The report is available here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-dental-health-survey/adult-dental-health-survey-2009-summary-report-and-thematic-series

Dental Health: Children

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population under 12 years of age that is free from dental decay in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 12 years for which information is available.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population under 12 years of age that is free from dental decay per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 12 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Data are not available on the proportion of the population under 12 years of age that is free from dental decay by the ten most and least deprived areas or by income quintile of the population in England in the last 12 years. The National Dental Epidemiology Programme and the Decennial Children’s Dental Health Surveys include reports on the proportion of the population under 12 years of age that is free from dental decay. The data from the 2016/17 National Dental Epidemiology Programme survey of five-year-olds was analysed using national quintiles of deprivation. The proportion of children free from dental decay was lowest in the most deprived quintile (66%) and highest in the least deprived quintile (86%).

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average number of NHS dentists in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population that see an NHS dentists within six months of joining a waiting list in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Dentistry

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average number of vacancies for an NHS dentist in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population who access an NHS dentist in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: No such estimate has been made.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population who access an NHS dentist per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population who have not accessed an NHS dentist in the past five years in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: No such estimate has been made.

Dental Services: Children

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children under 12 years old have had a tooth extracted in hospital in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children under 10 years old have had a tooth extracted in a hospital per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Data on the number of children under 12 years old who have had a tooth extraction in hospital in the 10 most and least deprived areas of England are not collected in the format requested. Data on the number of children under 10 years old who have had a tooth extracted in hospital per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years are not available in the format requested. Since 2013 Public Health England has published information about the numbers of children undergoing dental extractions in hospital. These are shown by age bands which allow calculation of the number of children under 10 years old, but not those aged under 12 years, who have such an episode of care. Data of the number of hospital episodes of dental extraction for children aged zero to nine for years 2011/12 to 2016/17 can be accessed at the following link: http://www.nwph.net/dentalhealth/Extractions_270317.aspx

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentists who are not able to accept new patients in the 10 (a) most deprived and (b) least deprived areas of England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Dental practices capacity to take on new patients varies but all practices are periodically able to take on new patients as existing patients move on. Because practices may regularly open and close to new patients over the period of a year it is not possible to estimate in the format requested the numbers unable to accept new patients.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Recruitment

Ben Lake: To ask the Attorney General, what his Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.

Jeremy Wright: Holding answer received on 30 April 2018



The application process for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Government Legal Department (GLD), Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HMCPSI does not include a declaration box for candidates to declare a criminal record.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many contractors his Department employs who have worked for his Department for (a) up to one year, (b) over one and up to five years, (c) over five years and up to ten years and (d) over 10 years.

Stuart Andrew: None. The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales does not employ contractors directly. Any contractors delivering services to the Department are employed under Ministry of Justice contracts.

Department for Education

Schools: Admissions

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 142462, how many schools have refused to admit looked-after or previously looked after children and were subsequently directed by his Department to do so in the last three years.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 25 May 2018



The Department recognises that looked after children are amongst the most vulnerable in our society. That is why the School Admissions Code requires admission authorities of all schools to prioritise looked after children and previously looked after children in their admissions criteria. Local authorities (LAs) have the power to direct the admission authority for any maintained school in England to admit a child who it ‘looks after’, even if that school is full. Therefore, the Department does not hold information on individual applications to maintained schools made on behalf of the looked after child. The Department itself can direct a maintained school if required, but so far it has not had to. For academies, trusts and LAs work together at a local level to prioritise the admission of looked after children. As a last resort, a LA can request a direction for the academy to admit from the Secretary of State, via the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The ESFA has collected and recorded data on such direction requests since March 2017. Since then, there have been 28 requests. However, the ESFA have successfully worked with LAs and academies to ensure that a formal direction was only required in four cases.

Department for Education: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education does not have any contractors currently under contract that are paid £1000 or more per day.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Business Premises: Small Businesses

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to encourage more short term and pop-up commercial leases for independent and start-up retailers and small businesses.

Dominic Raab: The Government sees small and start-up businesses as a critical part of our changing town centres and high streets, and sees short-term leases as a valuable tool for local authorities to use. But we are also supporting small retailers and businesses through other policies and have established the Minister-led Future High Street Forum to help town centres adapt to changing consumer trends.We also worked with the retail sector and local authorities on the recent draft revision of the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure planning policy supports greater diversification and change of uses where town centres are in decline.

High Rise Flats: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the London Fire Brigade on the adequacy of stay put advice for high-rise residents in the event of a fire.

James Brokenshire: Across London, the advice of London Fire Brigade on stay put remains the same. However, for specific buildings where it has been identified that they have Aluminium Composite Material cladding, one of the interim control measures is to move to a simultaneous evacuation strategy and the stay put policy has been temporarily suspended in these cases. In London there are approximately 100 buildings where this arrangement has been put in place. At such time that the Aluminium Composite Material cladding has been removed it is London Fire Brigade’s expectation that these buildings will move back to a stay put strategy. There are 16 blocks in London so far that have removed their cladding and returned to stay put.This has been the London Fire Brigade position since the Government published the interim measures and London Fire Brigade then carried out inspections to check that Responsible Persons had taken all reasonable steps to mitigate risk from fire to residents. This is in accordance with The National Fire Chiefs Council’s guidance on simultaneous evacuation, which supports the principle of a stay put strategy whenever possible. This guidance is available on the National Fire Chiefs Council’s website: https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/Simultaneous-evacuation-guidanceThe principles of stay put advice is laid out in the ‘Fire safety in Purpose-Built Block of Flats’ guidance hosted on the Local Government Association’s website and developed by a wide range of stakeholders. London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council support this guidance.

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals for Entry Level Exception Sites in the draft National Planning Policy Framework on Rural Exception Sites.

Dominic Raab: The Government has consulted on a proposed entry level exception site policy as part of the draft National Planning Policy Framework. This consultation closed on 10 May and responses are currently being assessed. The new National Planning Policy Framework and the Government’s response will be published in July.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the number of benefits claims.

Alok Sharma: We have not made an assessment. Currently there are 870,000 claimants on Universal Credit, which is around 12% of the final figure which will be on Universal Credit after rollout is complete and existing benefit and tax credit caseloads have migrated across over the next few years.

Children: Day Care

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment of the effectiveness of support provided to parents for the cost of childcare under universal credit.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for all of our claimants, including parents, to move into and progress in work, and it is working. There are now 11.5 million parents in work (a rate of 82.4%), while 67.4% of lone parents are now in employment. The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare, including providing 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, and doubling free childcare available for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. We have also increased the level of support for childcare costs within Universal Credit from 70% to 85%, its highest ever level. This gives parents up to £646.35 per month for one child and £1108.04 per month for two or more children. We know that the longer someone is out of the jobs market, the harder it can be to return when they are ready. That is why, unlike legacy means-tested benefits, Universal Credit does not have a minimum of 16 hours per week to be entitled to the Universal Credit childcare offer. Instead, it supports the Universal Credit principle that work pays, regardless of the number of hours worked. Parents will also be helped to prepare for work when their youngest child is two, and look for work when they are three. This will give them the best chance of finding a job which fits in with their caring responsibilities. Work-related requirements are tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Work coaches can consider caring responsibilities when setting availability and work search hours. This will also include work preparation activities.

Universal Credit

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the government has to include household food insecurity in the evaluation of the effectiveness of Universal Credit.

Alok Sharma: The Department currently has no plans to include household food insecurity in the evaluation of the effectiveness of Universal Credit. However, we do continue to evaluate Universal Credit as it is delivered. Research and analysis is conducted to assist and inform the evaluation and the expansion of Universal Credit, focusing specifically on the effects of Universal Credit on claimants’ behaviours and outcomes. The Universal Credit Evaluation Framework can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-evaluation-framework-2016

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to test for bovine TB (a) those badgers culled as part of the culling trial, (b) those badgers remaining in the high risk areas and (c) a sample of badgers in the low risk area.

George Eustice: We have started exploratory work on the use of tissue sampling to test badgers in some cull areas to identify trends in disease prevalence. In addition there has been a long standing surveillance programme run by APHA which monitors the prevalence of the disease in one highly infected population in Gloucestershire. Post-mortem testing of found-dead wildlife carcasses is also deployed in the Low Risk Area in a targeted way where a cluster of TB cases in cattle is suspected to be linked to TB in wildlife.

Forests

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to minimise deforestation (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.

David Rutley: As forestry is a devolved matter this answer relates to England only. The Forestry Act and the Environmental Impact Assessment regulations afford woodlands protection from inappropriate felling and land use change. The Government is committed to accelerating new woodland planting and has a number of manifesto commitments to support afforestation in England, including the planting of 11 million trees and a further one million trees in our towns and cities by 2022. The Government also has a number of schemes to support afforestation including the Woodland Creation Grant under Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund, and the Woodland Creation Planning Grant. In January the Prime Minister announced through the 25 Year Environment Plan the support of the new Northern Forest, which will see 50 million trees planted by 2042. The 25 Year Environment Plan also outlines our commitment to supporting and protecting the world’s forests, supporting sustainable agriculture and enhancing sustainability and supporting zero-deforestation supply chains. The UK Government endorses the New York Declaration on Forests, which aims to end natural forest loss by 2030, and is a member of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020. Alongside Germany and Norway, we have pledged $5 billion to support countries that are reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Through International Climate Finance, Defra has committed £210m in projects and programmes that aim to protect the world’s most biodiverse forests, for example in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Madagascar.

Timber

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his steps Department is taking to minimise the environmental effect of logging (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.

David Rutley: In most cases a licence is required from the Forestry Commission before a landowner can undertake tree felling. When considering a felling licence application the Forestry Commission in England will take into account the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), the government’s approach to sustainable forestry. Where clear felling takes place there is, in most cases, a requirement to restock the woodland to maintain our woodland resource. In addition recipients of licences are reminded of their obligations to carry out their activities in a manner that reflects good forestry practice with appropriate consideration for possible impacts on habitats and species, including checks to ensure compliance with the Habitats Regulations relating to European Protected Species and obligations to protect birds under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These safeguards help ensure that sustainable forest management in the UK, including the appropriate felling of trees, has a positive environmental effect. The government is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implement the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which establishes the FLEGT licensing scheme and aims to improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation is underpinned by Voluntary Partnership Agreements between the EU and timber producing countries. Indonesia became the first partner country to issue FLEGT licences in November 2016. The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

Home Office

John Worboys

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints from alleged victims of John Worboys were subject to out of court disposals.

Mr Nick Hurd: No complaints from the alleged victims of John Worboys were subject to out of court disposals.The use of out of court disposals in cases of rape and sexual assault is exceptionally rare. We expect every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Police: Emergency Calls

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of 999 calls to (a) Humberside Police and (b) each police force in England that are responded to within 60 minutes by a police officer (i) attending the crime scene, (ii) taking initial witness statements and (iii) commencing initial investigations of that crime scene within 60 minutes of that call being made in each year between 2010 and 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: Anyone calling 999 should expect their calls to be responded to within a reasonable time. The Home Office expect the crimes reported to the Police are taken seriously and investigated. However, the Home Office does not collect this data as the handling of 999 calls is an operational matter for the police. It is for elected Police Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how best to manage their communications and response to the public.In March 2018, as part of its annual effectiveness reports on all police forces in England and Wales, HMICFRS briefly assessed the police’s response to calls from the public.The report for the Humberside Police can be found at:https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-effectiveness-2017-humberside.pdf

Police

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of police officers were employed as detectives in (a) Humberside and (b) each police force in England between 2010 and 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales. These data are broken down by rank, which includes: Chief officer, Chief superintendent, Superintendent, Chief inspector, Inspector, Sergeant and Constable. Information on the number of officers employed as detectives is not collected.Data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales

Crimes of Violence

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made as to the reasons why between 2014 and 2017 recorded offences of violence with injury rose by 25 per cent while charges fell by 12 per cent; what steps he is taking to ensure those who commit criminal acts of violence and cause injury are charged; and what projections his Department has made of changes in the level of recorded offences and charges brought over the next three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Office for National Statistics has pointed to improvements to recording processes and practices by forces as key drivers of increases in police recorded crime. These include expanded offence coverage, and an increased willingness of victims to come forward and report certain crimes (particularly domestic abuse in the cases of violence offences) to the police. In addition there are likely to be genuine increases for some crime types. Changes in charges are likely to reflect this increasingly complex caseload, which may lead to it taking longer for police forces to apply a charge to a crime recorded by them.We recognise that demand on the police is changing. We have responded positively by providing a strong and comprehensive settlement that is increasing total investment in the police system by over £460m in 2018/19. This includes £50m for Counter-Terrorism, £130m for national priorities and £280m in force funding from increases in Council Tax precept income.

Scotland Office

Holidays: Low Incomes

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will meet representatives of VisitScotland to discuss (a) its ScotSpirit scheme's provision of holidays to low income families and (b) the positive effect that holidays can have on family life.

David Mundell: I regularly meet with representatives from across the tourism sector and would be happy to meet VisitScotland to discuss this important issue.

Scotland Office: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many contractors his Department employs who have worked for his Department for (a) up to one year, (b) over one and up to five years, (c) over five years and up to ten years and (d) over 10 years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ any contractors as part of its workforce.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the strategic supplier risk management policy, when the most recent review of Interserve's risk level was undertaken.

Oliver Dowden: In accordance with the Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy, the Commercial Relationships Board regularly assesses the performance and relevant risk factors of each strategic supplier.

Cabinet Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2018 to Question137437, which of his Department's invitations to tender not published in the Official Journal of the EU during the period from April 2016 to March 2018 received no bids.

Oliver Dowden: The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) holds data on all contracts above the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) threshold, which is currently set at £106,047. While CCS does hold data for tenders below that threshold, this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what work for the digital and technology team the payments to Team Consulting International UK were made.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what work on Fast Stream learning and development the payments to CSL KPMG LLP were made.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what parts of SME contract management the payments to NTT Data UK Ltd were made.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what parts of the NSDR team the payments to PA Consulting Services Ltd were made.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what work on Hub Memphis the payments to BNP Paribas were made.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what parts of the Next Gen Shared Services project the payments to Deliotte LLP were made.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Expenditure over £25,000 - March 2018, published on 2 May 2018, for what parts of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority GMPP operations the payments to Price Waterhouse Coopers were made.

Oliver Dowden: This information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Contracts

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many contractors have been employed by his Department for (a) up to one year, (b) between one and five years, (c) between five and 10 years and (d) over 10 years.

Graham Stuart: The Department for International Trade was established in July 2016. As such, the Department has employed no contractors for a tenure of longer than 2 years.The Department employs 213 contractors of which 96 have been employed for up to one year and 117 have been employed for more than one year.

Standard Individual Export Licences: Iran

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many applications submitted by (a) Boeing and (b) Boeing UK for licences to export goods to Iran have been received by the Export Control Organisation since the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 16 January 2016.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many applications submitted by Jeppesen UK Limited for licences to export goods to Iran have been received by the Export Control Organisation since the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 16 January 2016.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 142370 on Iran: Standard Individual Export Licences, how many applications submitted by (a) Jeppesen UK, (b) CDG, (c) Aviall, (d) Tapestry Solutions and (e) AerData for licences to export goods to Iran have been received by the Export Control Organisation since the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 16 January 2016.

Graham Stuart: Information provided in export licence applications (such as names of exporters, end users and third parties) is confidential. However, the Government publishes Official Statistics about export licences on a quarterly and annual basis, which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences.Currently these reports contain information up to 31 December 2017. Information covering 1 January to 31 March will be published in July 2018.

Shanker Singham

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department was made aware of the meetings that Crawford Falconer has had with the policy adviser Shanker Singham since July 2017.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department was made aware of what was discussed at the meetings held between Crawford Falconer and Shanker Singham that have taken place since July 2017.

Graham Stuart: The Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser has had no official meetings with Shanker Singham. All meetings on official business are declared in the transparency returns and can be found on the gov.uk page:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade&publication_type=transparency-data